Senate Extends Implementation Of 2023 Budget

The Senate, on Thursday, in an emergency session, extended the implementation of the 2023 Appropriation Act from June 30, 2024, to December 31, 2024.

The apex legislative Chamber also extended the implementation of the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget till December, 2024.

The Senate made the approvals following the request of President Tinubu for the extension of the implementation of both budgets.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the extension of the two budgets during the plenary, after it was read for the first, second and third times and unanimously supported by the lawmakers.

The Upper Chamber separately considered the two bills seeking to extend implementation timeline for the budgets of the last fiscal year.

CityMirrorNews reports that this is the second time that the lawmakers extended the implementation of the 2023 budget and its capital components since the beginning of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

The Senate had in March, extended implementation of the capital component of the 2023 budget and implementation of the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget till June 30, 2024.

The present extension means that the 2023 budget will be implemented for two years despite the existence of the 2024 budget, resulting in federal government implementing two budgets simultaneously, as the 2024 Appropriation Act is also running.

Leading debate on the bills, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said that the extension was required to allow the federal government to complete ongoing projects captured in the budgets, urging his colleagues to support the extension.

“This Bill, therefore, intends to further extend the implementation period of the Acts to 31st December, 202,4 given the strategic importance of some key projects nearing completion and to allow for continued implementation for the maximum benefit of the country.

“Undoubtedly, this would go a long way to avoid the compounding problems of abandoned projects. Hence, the need for the enactment of this proposed legislation to extend the implementation,” Mr Bamidele said.

“I therefore urge my colleagues to give their full support to these bills to allow for full utilisation of the capital releases to help reflate the economy”.

The Minority Leader, Abba Moro, supported the extension of the appropriation bills, noting that there was a need for an extension of the budget, just as the Senate Chief Whip Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) also pointed out that the main reason for the extension was to allow the federal government to complete ongoing capital projects.

Former Senate Chief, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, (APC, Abia North) said that there were many uncompleted projects in different parts of the country, urged his colleagues to disregard criticism of the extension of the budgets.

Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) argued that the budgets should not be extended continuously, advising the lawmakers to ensure that the federal government implements the projects as contained in the approved budget.

Responding, Akpabio explained that the Senate chamber would monitor the implementation of the capital component through an oversight function.

“Implementation is left to the executive, and oversight is left for the legislative,” Akpabio said.

After the contributions, the President of the Senate, put an extension of the budgets to voice vote and the majority of the lawmakers supported it.